Step-By-Step (Cowgirl) 3

Thanks for putting my last pic in the right place. I was really tired when I typed that last message.

Those First Cuts:

That log isn't much more than 12 inches across now so I can use my electric saw. It's lighter and easier to manouver. I'll repost that last picture to keep everyone up to date.

As you can see, I stayed well away from the lines with the first cuts. I'm kind of nervous with the first cuts so I sort of sneek up on them. There is a major problem after you are satisfied with that profile. You have cut the front view off and you can't put the wood back on again. It's even hard to put the front pattern back on again. The plywood will bend inward some but if you try to simply trace it back on, your pen/pencil won't reach properly or it will go crooked and that gives you distortions. This likely sounds stupid but it works. You have to tack the pattern on where it touches the wood. Usually at the hat and the boots. Tie your marker to a stick to lengthen it. Carefully put dots all along the pattern. Be careful to keep the marker/pen level. Then simply take the pattern off and connect the dots. The is what I got:

Notice what else I did? I put the center line in. I actually goes all the way around. You likely have enough wood to run you saw down that line to keep it there.

I did a couple of extra things at the same time that I cut that pattern out. I started to shape the hat and I cut out between the legs. Be careful with that plung cut. It sets the width of the skirt and the width of the boots. It's good to have real floppy boots. I just noticed that I cut the corners on the boots as well.

I hope this will be of help to some beginners. More tomorrow.

This message has been edited by wayneguyer from IP address 68.81.114.95 on Sep 15, 2003 6:37 PM